Why the excessive force on protesters?

We are appalled at the rough treatment and arrest of Imran H Sarkar, the Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson, by plain-clothes law enforcement officials at a peaceful protest rally in Shahbagh on June 6. The excessive force used by the law enforcers on the protesters as evidenced by newspaper and TV reports, is unacceptable in a democratic country.

Sarkar was released seven hours later but the reason for his arrest was, in the first place, rather tenuous. He was arrested on the grounds that the protesters had not taken permission to hold the gathering.

The rally was entirely peaceful, non-violent and did not seem to pose any public safety risk whatsoever. This, therefore, raises the question whether a legal provision was used as a pretext to silence critics as the demonstrators were protesting the law enforcement agencies' conduct in the ongoing anti-narcotics drive that has so far led to 130 deaths.

The protesters, moreover, did apply for permission beforehand. And, according to the Dhaka Metropolitan Commission (DMP) Ordinance, it was up to DMP to ban a particular rally considering public safety, but the force that intervened in the aforementioned rally was a totally separate unit of law enforcers.

Most importantly, the notion that permission from the police is required to hold even a small demonstration as this is absurd. Such a restrictive approach stands in contrast to the citizens' constitutional rights to protest and hold rallies and is incompatible with a democratic society.

We call on the authorities concerned to exercise restraint in the face of non-violent protests. The need to seek permission for big rallies is acceptable but for every single peaceful gathering, however small, is not.